Who We Could Have Been
by KitKatH123
Summary: What if Emma and Julian's families were never effected by the Dark War? Would Emma and Julian ever end up together? Or would they drive themselves apart?
1. Chapter 1

"I feel stupid." Jules groaned as he stared at his reflection. It was Christmas Eve, and Emma had insisted that the Los Angeles Institute hold a party – a fancy dress party. Emma rounded the doorway and stepped inside Julian's room. God, she looked beautiful. Her golden hair was pinned up high on her head, and she was dressed elegantly in a midnight-blue ball gown that drifted gently over her slender frame, clinging to and accentuating her every curve without looking obscene.  
"Aww," she said, breaking Julian out of his daze, "you look cute!"  
He looked down at himself, then back up at beautiful Emma and scoffed, "ha. Yeah, right. How come you got to dress like some movie star and I'm stuck in this bloody snowman costume." Emma burst in to a fit of giggles that rung in Julian's ears like peeling bells.  
"Hey, you agreed to these costumes!"  
"No, I didn't. You _told_ me that we were having this party – that I'm not going to enjoy by the way – and you _told_ me it was fancy dress, and you _told_ me that we were going as Disney characters from Frozen. You _know_ I've never seen it, and you _know_ I wouldn't have bothered to look it up. Is there any way we can change?" Julian's eyes begged Emma to find another costume, to find a way for him to placate her need to party without him getting embarrassed.  
Emma rolled her eyes. "I have a back-up, but only one, okay?"  
Julian sighed with relief. "Go get it then!"

As Emma left the room, Julian tried to figure out how to get out of said stupid snowman costume and was successful only when Emma returned and helped him to reach the zipper on the back and pull it off until he was stood only in his tights (yet another part of the ridiculous Olaf costume Emma had put together). Turning around, he saw how Emma had managed to change their costumes. From somewhere, she had produced a delicate tiara that now sat atop her head, making her look every bit the princess she was pretending to be, and had also found an outfit that made Julian's eyes widen reflexively, due to sheer brightness of colour. Before him was a pair of crimson trousers, a yellow jacket, complete with epaulets, and a golden crown. He sighed inwardly in despair – but at least _this_ character was human. But then Emma's choice of characters dawned on him and he groaned again– Cinderella and Prince Charming. A couple. Brilliant. It wasn't as if everybody didn't already suspect they were dating. It wasn't as if Julian didn't secretly wish that their suspicions were correct.

Poor Julian Blackthorn had been slowly falling in love with his best friend, Emma Carstairs, ever since the Dark War. Thankfully, both of their families had survived the bloodshed, and thus both resided within the Los Angeles Institute. There was a time when Julian had considered asking Emma to be his _parabatai_ , but on remembering the laws surrounding _parabatai_ , namely that they were not allowed to fall in love, and because of his infallible – albeit unrealistic – hope that one day Emma would feel the same way he did, he never asked, and instead became _parabatai_ with his older brother, Mark. Years later, a visitor to the institute named Christina had befriended Emma particularly, and had thus stayed on at the institute way past the end of her yearlong placement and had become _parabatai_ with Emma mere months later. So the path was clear for them to be together – if only Emma didn't see him as nothing more or less than her best friend since childhood.

 **There we go folks! First chapter of my newest story - been working on this one a while, just never uploaded it til now. Leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **-KitKat xx**


	2. Chapter 2

Emma left the room so that Julian could get changed, and when she returned she was taken aback by how regal he looked, hell – how _handsome_ he looked. It was no secret that Julian was good-looking, handsome, _beautiful_ even, but Emma had never really noticed it before. She shook her head as if to clear it and grabbed Julian's arm to drag him downstairs to where the party had already begun. From behind her, Julian could see how the elegantly high neckline of Emma's dress fell away at the back to sit low on her waist, leaving her shoulder blades completely bare along with the silvery Marks that covered them. There were very few scars in that particular area of skin – rather an accomplishment for Emma, seeing as the rest of her body was almost completely covered in the faint silvery lines of scars from years ago, and the harsh red lines from more recent accidents, both in training and out on hunts. The long sleeves of the gown shimmered in the candlelight, hiding the backs of her hands as they looped around the middle finger of each hand. Julian had to watch his boots as he was pulled down the stairs to avoid tripping them both by stepping on the train of Emma's dress; he doubted she would appreciate his ruining both her dress and her hair, which must have taken Christina hours to construct in to a delicate, intentionally-messy bun.

The foyer of the Institute looked beautiful – all the candles were lit and there was tinsel and fairy lights, snow-flakes and mistletoe hung all around, filling the hallway while still remaining tasteful. The corridor down to the ballroom was marked by a narrow, deep red strip of carpet, adorned with tiny images of holly, with fake snow piled up on either side to create a walkway, wide enough for two people if their arms were linked. Julian and Emma met their parents in the foyer; Mr and Mrs Carstairs were dressed as James Bond and Miss Moneypenny, while Mr and Mrs Blackthorn had opted for a knight and a princess, but both couples fawned over Emma, who would never normally wear anything other than gear or ripped skinny jeans and flannel shirts, and giggled at Julian, with his clear disdain for the bright clothes Emma had forced him in to. He half-glared at Emma's father in jealousy of the tasteful white tuxedo he was wearing, wishing his outfit hadn't had to be so bright. Their parents remained in the foyer to welcome all of the guests, while they ushered the teenagers down the red carpet to the ballroom, from which music was already audible.  
"Emma, I _still_ look ridiculous, please don't make me go in there like this," Julian begged, but Emma just pulled him to a momentary halt, messing with his hair, brushing off his epaulets and pushing the centre of his back to make him stand up straighter.  
"Julian, listen to me. You look wonderful, okay? Now, come on, you promised you'd come with me since me and Cameron aren't speaking, and you're not allowed to break promises you made to your best friend." Julian just sighed and offered Emma his arm, which she gleefully took, before pulling him down the hall towards the tall oak doors.

 _ **AN: Hello my lovelies! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated - school and life have really gotten in the way - but here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it! Love, KitKat xxx**_


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